[Spok]

This is why, in their inestimable wisdom, our founding fathers made an elected civilian commander-in-chief of all of our armed forces.

[Blue_Ridge_Mtn_Geek]

And, in their wisdom, the presidential electors have repeatedly chosen former generals to be president.

Someone with a finer memory for history may correct me, but I can't recall a US war that began while a former general was in the White House (unless you count the start of the Vietnam War sometime during the Eisenhower Admin, rather than with Kennedy's commitment of "advisors" to the SVN army).